When Michael Jordan ruined rapper Chamillionaire’s dream with unexpected gesture: “You pay $15,000 right now for a jersey from me”
Although Michael Jordan is beloved by NBA fans around the world, it's no secret that Jordan is somewhat of a hothead. In addition to things like punching Steve Kerr or throwing hands with Will Perdue, Jordan was known to lash out at opponents and teammates with his quick tongue.
Over a decade ago, Chamillionaire was on top of the world.
With a spot on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2006, a grammy, and an MTV Video Music Award, the rapper's hit song "Ridin'" was everywhere. For those who didn't experience it, it's hard to explain just how big the song and Chamillionaire were at the time. Rolling Stone named the song one of the best of 2006, and BET named the music video one of the best of the year as well.
Despite that, Chamillionaire couldn't get a picture with Michael Jordan during a party MJ hosted two years later. As he explained years later, he had just bid $7,000 to win a game-worn MJ jersey earlier in the night before then heading to Jordan's party. After seeing Jordan taking pictures with girls earlier in the night, he approached the retired NBA star hoping for a photo, but Jordan wasn't having it.
"Nobody was talking," Chamillionaire said. "They were just chilling or whatever. I was just like, 'Hey, I don't mean to be rude, but, Mike, I just wanted to know if I could get a picture?' I kind of expected him to say no, so I wasn't mad if he said no. But the way he said it? He said, 'Oh, hell, nah, man! I ain't taking no pictures with no ni**as.'"
Chamillionaire said that he had just been engaged in a bidding war with another man earlier in the night for the Jordan jersey. As it turned out, the guy bidding against the rapper didn't even want the jersey, he just wanted to increase the bid to make himself look good in front of Kim Kardashian. Jordan didn't care for the story, and then used it against Chamillionaire.
"You pay $15,000 right now for a jersey from me, and I'll take a picture with you," Chamillionaire recalled Jordan as saying.
You can view the Grammy award-winning rapper talk about the situation in the video above.
Chamillionaire responds to Michael Jordan's harsh comments
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As Chamillionaire stared up at the NBA legend, one of the men sitting at Jordan's table spoke up, pointing out to MJ just who he was talking to. That only made the Hall of Famer even more angry, as he turned around and said, "I don't give a f**k."
After the situation got out, Nike allegedly sent the rapper a peace offering, something he rejected. Although he explained that he wasn't entirely surprised by the fact that Michael Jordan didn't want to take a picture with him, what really made the Grammy award-winning rapper upset was how the Hall of Famer went about shutting him down.
Maybe some day Jordan himself will speak about the situation, but until then it seems as though the story will live on in infamy.
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